Elderly’s heterogeneous responses to topographical factors in travel mode choice within a hilly neighborhood: An analysis based on combined GPS and paper-based surveys

Because of the decline of physical abilities of the elderly, their mobility is more vulnerable to topographical factors than younger population groups. However, topographical factors have been neglected in studies on travel behavior, and elderly people’s heterogeneous responses to topographical fact...

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Main Authors: Thi Anh Hong Nguyen, Makoto Chikaraishi, Hajime Seya, Akimasa Fujiwara, Junyi Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: TU Delft OPEN Publishing 2017-06-01
Series:European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
Online Access:https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/3204
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author Thi Anh Hong Nguyen
Makoto Chikaraishi
Hajime Seya
Akimasa Fujiwara
Junyi Zhang
author_facet Thi Anh Hong Nguyen
Makoto Chikaraishi
Hajime Seya
Akimasa Fujiwara
Junyi Zhang
author_sort Thi Anh Hong Nguyen
collection DOAJ
description Because of the decline of physical abilities of the elderly, their mobility is more vulnerable to topographical factors than younger population groups. However, topographical factors have been neglected in studies on travel behavior, and elderly people’s heterogeneous responses to topographical factors remain unknown. To fill this research gap, this study focuses on a hilly neighborhood called Koyo Newtown in Hiroshima City, Japan, where a multi-period (two waves) and multi-day (two weeks) panel survey was conducted in 2010 and 2011. The survey consisted of a GPS survey and a paper-based travel diary survey. In addition, a travel mode choice model is developed based on a panel mixed logit model. Heterogeneities are captured by introducing random effects to parameters of topographical factors, which are measured in terms of altitude difference, intensity of up/down movement, maximum slope, and changing slope. Furthermore, effects of introducing personal mobility vehicles (PM) to mitigate negative impacts of topographical factors are also evaluated. As a result, it is found that the altitude difference and maximum slope factors have significant impacts on mode choice decisions. The effectiveness of PM to support the mobility of elderly residents is also confirmed.
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spelling doaj.art-0adc4f4a9c364d64b63040b3ee86f9fb2024-08-03T08:28:40ZengTU Delft OPEN PublishingEuropean Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research1567-71412017-06-0117310.18757/ejtir.2017.17.3.32042816Elderly’s heterogeneous responses to topographical factors in travel mode choice within a hilly neighborhood: An analysis based on combined GPS and paper-based surveysThi Anh Hong Nguyen0Makoto Chikaraishi1Hajime Seya2Akimasa Fujiwara3Junyi Zhang4Hiroshima UniversityHiroshima UniversityKobe UniversityHiroshima UniversityHiroshima UniversityBecause of the decline of physical abilities of the elderly, their mobility is more vulnerable to topographical factors than younger population groups. However, topographical factors have been neglected in studies on travel behavior, and elderly people’s heterogeneous responses to topographical factors remain unknown. To fill this research gap, this study focuses on a hilly neighborhood called Koyo Newtown in Hiroshima City, Japan, where a multi-period (two waves) and multi-day (two weeks) panel survey was conducted in 2010 and 2011. The survey consisted of a GPS survey and a paper-based travel diary survey. In addition, a travel mode choice model is developed based on a panel mixed logit model. Heterogeneities are captured by introducing random effects to parameters of topographical factors, which are measured in terms of altitude difference, intensity of up/down movement, maximum slope, and changing slope. Furthermore, effects of introducing personal mobility vehicles (PM) to mitigate negative impacts of topographical factors are also evaluated. As a result, it is found that the altitude difference and maximum slope factors have significant impacts on mode choice decisions. The effectiveness of PM to support the mobility of elderly residents is also confirmed.https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/3204
spellingShingle Thi Anh Hong Nguyen
Makoto Chikaraishi
Hajime Seya
Akimasa Fujiwara
Junyi Zhang
Elderly’s heterogeneous responses to topographical factors in travel mode choice within a hilly neighborhood: An analysis based on combined GPS and paper-based surveys
European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
title Elderly’s heterogeneous responses to topographical factors in travel mode choice within a hilly neighborhood: An analysis based on combined GPS and paper-based surveys
title_full Elderly’s heterogeneous responses to topographical factors in travel mode choice within a hilly neighborhood: An analysis based on combined GPS and paper-based surveys
title_fullStr Elderly’s heterogeneous responses to topographical factors in travel mode choice within a hilly neighborhood: An analysis based on combined GPS and paper-based surveys
title_full_unstemmed Elderly’s heterogeneous responses to topographical factors in travel mode choice within a hilly neighborhood: An analysis based on combined GPS and paper-based surveys
title_short Elderly’s heterogeneous responses to topographical factors in travel mode choice within a hilly neighborhood: An analysis based on combined GPS and paper-based surveys
title_sort elderly s heterogeneous responses to topographical factors in travel mode choice within a hilly neighborhood an analysis based on combined gps and paper based surveys
url https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/3204
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